Chapter 2

When Scarlett woke up, the first thing she noticed was the sterile white ceiling of a hospital room. The second was the dull, empty ache in her lower abdomen. She slowly moved her hand to her stomach. It felt flat, hollow. The life that had been growing there was gone.

The grief was a physical weight, pressing down on her chest, making it hard to breathe. Tears she hadn't been able to cry before now welled up and streamed silently down her face. Her baby was gone. Julian had let their baby die.

The door to her room opened, and the very man who haunted her thoughts walked in. He wasn't alone. Bethany Greene was with him, her hand linked tightly with his. They looked like a perfect couple, him tall and powerful, her looking delicate and innocent beside him.

The sight of them together, so happy and untroubled, was a fresh wound. He used to hold her hand like that, his thumb gently stroking her knuckles in a way that always made her feel safe.

"You're awake," Julian said, his voice devoid of any warmth or concern.

Bethany stepped forward, her eyes wide with what looked like fear, but Scarlett could see the triumphant glint behind the act.

"Julian, maybe we should go," Bethany said, her voice trembling slightly. "I'm scared of her. She went to my parents' house yesterday, shouting and threatening them. They were so frightened."

Scarlett stared at her, stunned into silence. She hadn't left the villa. She had been locked in the meditation room, bleeding, losing their child.

"What are you talking about?" Scarlett's voice was hoarse. "I was..."

She looked at Julian, a desperate, pleading look in her eyes. "Julian, tell her. I was at home. You locked me in the meditation room. I lost the baby."

Julian' s face remained cold and unmoved. "Lost what baby? Scarlett, stop making up stories to get attention. Bethany's parents are old. You scared them half to death. Is this how you get revenge on me? By harassing innocent people?"

The air left Scarlett' s lungs. He didn't believe her. He didn't even care enough to check. He had already decided she was the villain in his story. The last shred of hope that he might feel some remorse, some flicker of the love he once had for her, died a painful death.

She started to laugh, a dry, humorless sound that scraped her raw throat. "Innocent? Julian, are you blind? Can't you see what she is?"

"Enough," Bethany interrupted, her voice sharp. "Julian, I don't want to hear her excuses. I just want her to apologize. She needs to apologize to me and my parents for the terror she put them through."

Julian looked at Scarlett, his eyes hard as stone. "You heard her. Apologize."

"I have nothing to apologize for," Scarlett said, her voice shaking with a mix of fury and despair.

"Apologize!" Julian's voice rose, commanding and absolute. He took a step toward the bed, his presence overwhelming. He grabbed her arm, his fingers digging into her skin, and dragged her out of the bed. She was still weak, still in pain, and stumbled, nearly falling to the floor.

He forced her to stand in front of Bethany, his hand a vice on the back of her neck.

"Say you're sorry," he ordered, pushing her head down.

Scarlett bit her lip so hard she tasted blood. The humiliation was a physical thing, a burning fire in her chest. To be forced to bow before this woman, the one who had stolen her husband and destroyed her life, was the ultimate degradation. But she knew resistance was futile. He would just hurt her more.

"I'm... sorry," she forced the words out, each one a bitter pill.

Bethany smiled, a small, victorious smirk. "That's better."

Julian let go of her, and she stumbled back, catching herself on the edge of the bed.

"Now that that's settled," Julian said, his tone business-like. "I'm divorcing you."

He gestured to a man in a suit who had been standing quietly by the door. The lawyer stepped forward and placed a folder on the bedside table.

"I've been more than generous," Julian continued, not even looking at her. "The settlement will ensure you can live comfortably for the rest of your life. There' s also a plane ticket. You can go anywhere you want."

The lawyer cleared his throat. "Mr. Thorne also instructed me to tell you... that this is just temporary. He says he needs to get this fling with Ms. Greene out of his system. He asks that you wait for him. He will come back to you when he's done."

Scarlett stared at the divorce papers, then back at Julian's arrogant face. The sheer audacity of his words was breathtaking. He destroyed her, took everything from her-her love, her dignity, her child-and he expected her to just wait patiently for him to return?

A strange sense of calm washed over her. It was the calm of utter and complete finality. The love she had held for him for a decade had been burned to ashes. There was nothing left.

She picked up the pen from the table. Without a moment's hesitation, she signed her name on the divorce papers. Her signature was firm and clear.

She then picked up the credit card and the plane ticket from the table. "Thank you," she said, her voice surprisingly steady.

Julian looked taken aback. He had expected tears, begging, a scene. Her quiet acceptance seemed to unsettle him.

"I don't want you to love me anymore," she said, looking him straight in the eye. The words were simple, but they carried the weight of her entire world crumbling. "I'm done."

She turned and walked out of the room, leaving him standing there with Bethany. She didn't look back. There was nothing left for her there.

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